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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23046028">Just a Rat in a Cage</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monn/pseuds/Monn'>Monn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Capo Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Forced Prostitution, M/M, Mob Boss Jensen Ackles, Prostitute Jared Padalecki, Sexual Coercion, Stripper Jared Padalecki, Work In Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:55:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,418</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23046028</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monn/pseuds/Monn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared has been running around, working two jobs to help take care of his family. An unhappy incident forces him to leave his somewhat stable life behind, only to become something he'd never wish on anybody. Not able to escape from the clutches of the Mafia, how far is he willing to go to survive?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jared Padalecki/Other(s), Jeffrey Dean Morgan/Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my third fic for this fandom. I'm not really a writer nor an english native speaker, so I welcome any help I can get. If you're interested in beta-reading or co-writing this with me, I'll be most obliged :) My info is on my profile.<br/>This work may be subjected to post-posting editing. I'll update the tags as I go along.<br/>The title comes (again) from a Smashing Pumpkins song, because, apparently, this is who I am.<br/>I hope you guys enjoy it, constructive criticism is welcome.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Jared, I fucked up.”</p><p>Jared felt like he could breathe again. Yes, the words James hissed through the phone were anything but optimistic, but still. Jared’s been in a constant state of panic for the past two days, looking everywhere for his older brother, calling him incessantly and leaving him a thousand messages. Nothing, no word from him, as if he had just vanished into thin air. He’s always had a close-knit relationship to his family, but after a drunk driver took the wrong turn, sped through a red light and crashed his car against his parents’, leaving them in a coma and subsequently leaving Jared and his siblings swimming in hospital bills and debts, the need to reassure himself that they were fine grew stronger and stronger. Inhaling deeply, he turned to his colleague, “Maggie, would you mind taking my place for a couple of minutes? I really need to take this call”.</p><p>The blond woman filing her nails looked at him smiling. “No problem, Jared. Is it your brother on the phone? Did you find him?”</p><p>Jared waved his hand, “yeah, it’s him, I’ll talk to you in a bit. Excuse me”.</p><p>He walked quickly out of the library he works at, begging silently his brother stays on the line. Sitting on the steps of the stair leading to the library, he said, “I can talk now. Where the hell have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you for two days straight!”</p><p>“I’m sorry Jare, I don’t have much time. I need your help”, James answered harshly.</p><p>“What do you mean, you don’t have much time? Where are you? Are you in trouble?”, Jared asked, his stomach in knots.</p><p>“I’m in Vegas, man. I fucked up. Royally.”</p><p>“Fuck, what did you do?”, Jared cursed.</p><p>“I lost our savings. I’m so sorry, Jare, I swear, I thought I had it, I swear to God…”, James said, voice full of regret.</p><p>“You thought you had what?”, Jared interrupts him, “did you gamble our savings away? Fuck!! You did, didn’t you?!” Jared couldn’t believe it. James didn’t just gamble all their money away, that wasn’t possible. They had a joint bank account and all of their earnings were used to pay for the hospital care of their parents. James wouldn’t risk it all at a fucking game.</p><p>“We needed the money, I thought I could bring back enough to pay our bills. Jared, I was desperate!”</p><p>“Fuck, what do you want me to do?”, Jared was fidgeting on the steps. “When are you coming home? Do you need me to send you some money for the plane ticket?”, he asked, already wondering how to pay for the tickets if James had withdrawn all their money.</p><p>“…”</p><p>“Hello? James, are you there?”, Jared asked, after what felt like minutes of silence.</p><p>“That’s the thing, Jared, I c-can’t leave”.</p><p>Jared didn’t miss James’s stuttering. This was not a good sign. Suspecting the worse, he asked, “what do you mean, you can’t leave? Are you out of cash?”</p><p>“I mean, <strong>they</strong> won’t let me leave until I pay the money I owe them”.</p><p>About to lose all his hair, Jared was afraid to ask, “how much did you lose, James?”</p><p>“75 thousand dollars”.</p><p>Jared couldn’t breathe. It felt like he’d just unlearned how to breathe and as much as he tried, the air was not reaching his lungs. Palms sweating and heart ponding, he tried to maintain his sanity. 75 fucking thousand dollars! Even working two jobs, he would never be able to pay back this amount of money. His bank account was already pretty much empty, all his savings go to pay the hospital bills, he had nothing to his name, not even a car. How could James be so careless with their family finances?? This was too much, he needed help, he needed his big brother to tell him everything’s gonna be okay. But life hasn’t been generous with the Padaleckis. Instead, now he has to make travel arrangements and bail his brother’s ass out of Vegas, with no clue how to actually do it. How’s he showing up in Vegas with no penny in his pockets going to help his brother?</p><p>He looked up the address James’s sent him on his phone. It’s supposed to be a club, but he couldn’t see any sign of such an establishment connected to the address. It doesn’t matter, he just has to make his way to Vegas, James said someone will pick him up at the airport. He buys a plane ticket using his emergency-only credit card and goes back to the library, he needs to convince Maggie to cover for him.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>As it turns out, convincing Maggie to cover for him wasn’t that much of a hassle. Jared suspected she liked him more than just a friend, and today, for the first time, he took advantage of it. She was more than willing to do it, even suggesting to take him out for coffee when he came back, so he could tell her all about his missing brother’s adventure. Jared likes her just fine, but he felt like he was tricking her, leading her on when he knew they’d never be together. Jared’s girlfriend, Sandy, was the only one with whom he wanted to be.</p><p>Jared went back home, took a quick shower and packed a small bag with clothes, toiletries and documents. On his way to the airport, he sent Sandy and Jess, his sister, a message informing them he’ll be out of town for a couple of days, hoping they won’t ask any further questions, as he had no easy answer to give them.</p><p>The airport in Las Vegas was brimming with excited tourists from all over the world. Jared looked around, not knowing exactly what to look for. His brother didn’t tell him who’d pick him up or how this person would look like, but in all fairness, James probably didn’t know. Distracted, Jared jumped as he felt fingers gripping his arm tightly and a voice coming from behind him.</p><p>“Don’t make a noise and come with me”. Clutching his bag hard, he let himself be led outside the airport. Before he was even able to see the goon behind him, he was being pushed inside to the backseat of a black jeep, where another man was waiting for them.</p><p>The man sitting inside the jeep was bald and muscular, just like the one who picked him up at the airport. He promptly took Jared’s bag from him and told him to sit. “Are you going to behave yourself or do I have to tie you up?”, he asked him, grinning.</p><p>Jared thought of ways to stay calm, but couldn’t find any. “I’ll be good”, he said, sweating in the hot desert weather. He barely had time to fest his seatbelt and the driver was already speeding away from the airport.</p><p>Without his bag and his phone to distract himself, Jared was growing more and more apprehensive. No one talked to him and his worst fears were chewing his insides. He tried to commit to memory the way to the club, looking for landmark references, but the trip was taking longer than he thought. It didn’t help any that this was his first time in Vegas and he had no reference to begin with.</p><p>After what felt like an hour, but really, Jared had no way to tell, the car stopped. Jared looked through the window, not seeing anything resembling a club. Tourists were nowhere in sight, there were only old buildings and what seemed to be an abandoned factory with a red brick façade around, exactly what he saw when he first searched for the address on his phone, back in San Antonio. The driver opened the door and told him to get out. Grabbing his arm again, he took Jared to the side door of the old factory, pushing him through. The room was dark and reeked of alcohol. Jared tripped on the stairs leading inside and if it wasn’t for the driver, he’d have splashed himself onto the floor. The driver didn’t wait for him to get a hold of himself, he kept guiding Jared with sure steps and a heavy hand on his arm through the large room filled with tables and chairs, up the stairs over the other side of the room until they reached an office that overlooked the entire first floor of the club. The driver knocked on the door twice before opening it and led Jared inside.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>Jared stepped inside the broad office. The man sitting on a tall chair in front of a large mahogany desk looked directly at him and grinned. “Welcome to Vegas, Jared. Please, take a seat”, he said, pointing to the chair opposite to him. Jared barely had time to look around, but he didn’t miss the pole on the side of the room next to a massive couch. He shivered, taking the offered seat and praying for his brother.</p><p>The man introduced himself as Jeffrey Dean, part owner of the club. Jared was too nervous for amenities and blurted out he wanted to see his brother.</p><p>Jeff smirked. He stood up, refreshed his drink and offered Jared one, which was promptly denied.</p><p>“Mr. Jeffrey Dean, sir, I can only assume you’re a very busy man, so why don’t you cut to the chase and tell me what I have to do to get my brother back”, Jared demanded, trying and failing to seem intimidating.</p><p>Jeff placed Jared’s drink down on the desk and sat back on his chair. Amused, he asked, “what can you offer me?”</p><p>“Sir, I… I have 578 dollars. That’s all I can give to you. My parents, th-”</p><p>“I know all about your tragic family history,” Jeff interrupted him. “It breaks my heart, kiddo, to see a family waste away like this. You having to give up your education to work two jobs, one of them still at the college you were attending. It must be frustrating seeing your friends moving on and you stuck on your dead end job. But at least little Jess can go on with her studies. She’s such a pretty girl, bright too, right? Straight As, class president, impressive.”</p><p>Jared was flabbergasted. How did he know all this about his family? He supposed James could’ve told him, but he’s usually fiercely protective of his family, Jared couldn’t imagine he’d be blabbing about their lives. Unless he was begging for his own.</p><p>“How do you know all of this?”, Jared asked, changing his mind about the drink and taking a sip of the bourbon. It burned his throat all the way to his stomach.</p><p>“You’ll come to learn that there’s nothing I don’t know. My people are everywhere. Even in distant San Antonio.”</p><p>Jared was still debating whether this was even possible, when Jeff opened his drawer and placed his iPad on his desk. “You know, Jared, I was so moved by your family sad story that I sent a friend to pay your parents a visit. You don’t have to worry, though, as you can see here, they’re fine. Well, as fine as they can be, lying in bed in a coma.” Jeff pushed the iPad towards Jared and watched his eyes grow two sizes.</p><p>Jared took the iPad with trembling hands and what he saw shook him to his core. It seemed to be a livestream of his parents lying on their hospital beds. Jeff had someone go all the way to San Antonio State Hospital only to place a surveillance system on his parents inside their room. <em>There was a criminal alone with his defenseless parents!</em> Jared couldn’t grasp it, it was beyond any sense of reality. He looked at this man that owned his life, this man with gray hair and green eyes, a perpetual sneer on his lips and air of superiority, and asked, “what do you want from me?”</p><p>“I’m a business man, Jared, and as much as I sympathize with your situation, I still need your brother to pay what he owes me. 75 K.”</p><p>“W-we don’t have that kind of money,” Jared said, his puppy dog eyes begging Jeff to change his mind.</p><p>“That’s too bad, kiddo. But I’ll tell you what. I’m feeling kind of generous today, so I’m going to give you two days to come up with the money your brother owes me. If by the end of these two days, you don’t have it, you’ll pack your bags, say goodbye to little sis and your gorgeous girl, Sandy, isn’t it? And you and your brother will come work for me.”</p><p>“Sir, I’m sorry, but I can’t just leave my sister. She’s underage, she needs me! I’m all she’s got left!”, Jared shouted, tears filling his eyes.</p><p>“Unless you want your brother and your parents to lose their lives, you’ll do it”, Jeff said, his face turned hard. “Or maybe I should send someone to pick up little sis and bring her over. I bet she’ll love Vegas. Perhaps she’ll be willing to trade places with you.”</p><p>Shocked, Jared abruptly stood up. “N-no, I’ll do it. Please, leave her out of this.”</p><p>“That’ll be up to you. But I have faith you’ll honor your commitment to me.”</p><p>“I will, I promise.”</p><p>“See you in two days, Jared. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you not to call the authorities”, Jeff said.</p><p>“No, sir, I know”, Jared answered, defeated.</p><p>“Good boy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Farewell</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for taking so long to post again. These are hard times we're living. I hope you guys are staying safe.<br/>Unbeta'd and pretty much unedited.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 2:</p><p>Jared was on the flight back to San Antonio, making plans that he knew wouldn’t come to fruition. He could go to the bank and ask for another mortgage loan, but chances of getting it were close to zero. He could try to sell the house, but with only two days’ time, he obviously wouldn’t be able to do it. If only he was given more time! How can he raise 75 thousand dollars in two days? He has no rich friends nor any family around who’d be willing or even able to loan him that much cash in this short amount of time.</p><p>As soon as he landed, he went home to gather all the necessary documents to take to the bank for his suicidal mission. After being denied by employees of three different banks, he declared this mission a failure. No surprise there, with his family’s credit, they wouldn’t get a loan even for half of the amount he was asking, but he had to try.</p><p>It was only noon and Jared was already exhausted. He hadn’t been sleeping well prior to James’s call and as worried as he was now, he just couldn’t stop a minute to catch his breath. He was completely out of options, the only thing he could do was to abide to Jeff’s demands. Accepting this was the hardest reality check he’s ever had, the idea of leaving his family behind and letting his life in the hands of that smirking son of a bitch was almost an impossible thing to do. He felt as he was grieving all over again.</p><p>He called Jess and told her to come home straight from school, they needed to talk. His serious tone left her with no doubt about the gravity of the situation.</p><p>Jess came barging in inside the house carrying her rucksack, frightened eyes searching for Jared, calling his name out loud. Jared had thought long and hard on what he’d tell Jess, but as soon as he saw her, he was lost for words. She’s already pretty much lost her parents, now she’d lose both her brothers as well. Jared couldn’t hold back his tears any longer, the fear of what this would do to his little sister was all-consuming.</p><p>They sat on the couch staring at each other. Jared didn’t know how to begin this conversation, but looking at her worried eyes, he blurted out, “James is fine”.</p><p>He saw her features softening, worry lines slowly dissolving. He knew he was about to put them back on her beautiful face. She didn’t ask him any question, just scratched her legs over her jeans, a nervous habit she had, and waited for him to go on. He decided then and there not to lie to her, she was seventeen and could handle the truth. She had to.</p><p>Jared proceeded to tell her about James’s call and his impromptu trip to the club. He didn’t mention the name of the city nor details of his meeting with Jeffrey, not wishing to divulge too much information that could put her in peril in the near future. His need to protect her was the only thing that mattered right now.</p><p>Jessica tried to be patient and understanding, but she knew he was hiding things from her. She tried to push him to answer some of her questions, but he was adamant in his refusal to do it. She hugged him tightly, tears running down her cheeks, she was shivering in his arms. Jared let himself go for a couple of minutes, joining her in her agony.</p><p>Jared tried to comfort her as best as he could. “Don’t worry, Jess, we’ll find a way to pay back the money we owe them. We’ll see each other again soon, you’ll see”.</p><p>“You’re just saying that, but you don’t know what’s going to happen”, she sobbed.</p><p>“I know James and I will find a way. But I need you to promise me something”.</p><p>“W-what?”</p><p>“This is important, so please, promise me you’ll not look for us. We will contact you. And most important, you can’t call the cops. Under no circumstances you’re to call the cops, you hear me? Please, you’ve got to promise me”.</p><p>“I promise you”.</p><p>Jessica took a tissue paper out of her rucksack and handed Jared one. They blew their noses and wiped their tears. Jared took a deep breath and focused on the things he still needed to tell her. He assured Jess he’d deposit money on their bank account as often as he could and she could take his job at the college library to keep herself above water until she finished high school. She’d be eighteen in a couple of months, so he wasn’t really concerned about Child Protective Services.</p><p>By the end of the afternoon, Jess was a wreck. Truthfully, she didn’t want to be without her brothers, but she knew there was nothing she could say to change his mind. Whatever happened in that meeting must have scared her brother to his bones.</p><p>Jared took out his wallet and gave her almost all the money he had left, just leaving enough for himself for transportation. They spent the rest of the day hugging on the couch, soothing each other and remembering better times.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Jared sat up on his bed after a night of tossing and turning and looked around his room. His heart was heavy with loss and longing, he couldn’t help thinking this might be the last time he’d sleep in his bed. He took in the details that made up his life, the pictures he had of friends and family hanging on his board, his sport and speech trophies, his CDs and books. Swimming in his head were recollections of their family celebrating holidays, of kissing and making love to Sandy on this very bed, of meeting Milo and the guys for a night out. Mixed with those memories were intruding thoughts and concerns about what lies ahead. Would he be able to contact his sister? What kind of job would he have? How on Earth would he continue to pay for his parents’ medical bills? He needed to stand up and start his day, his last day of the life he knew, but Jared was paralyzed by fear and uncertainty.</p><p>He finally forced himself to move, rising from the bed and heading to the bathroom. After his morning bathroom routine, he had breakfast with Jess, like they’ve always done before she left for school. Jess told him she wanted to skip classes today, she couldn’t go knowing this would be their last day together in a long time, but he told her in no uncertain terms, as much as he wanted to spend time with her, he had many things to do. Under protest, she left to school short after, but not before making him promise her not to leave without saying goodbye.</p><p>Jared went back to his bedroom, cleaned it up a little and filled up his duffel bag with clothes, toiletries and shoes. He called his boss at the library, scheduling a meeting with her for the afternoon, he needed to convince her to allow Jess to take over for him. Afterwards, he called his boss at the bar where he worked as a bartender and quit his job. He sent Sandy a message, asking her to meet him up in-between classes and headed out to college.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>It wasn’t easy to convince his boss to let Jess replace him at the library. With his sister’s schedule restrictions, his boss made a good case on why this wouldn’t work. But Jared pleaded on her behalf like his life depended on it and she finally conceded to a trial period. Jared thanked her profusely, leaving the library to meet Sandy. If this meeting with his boss wasn’t easy, it was nothing in comparison to what he needed to do now.</p><p>Jared went to their spot, a park near campus popular with college students looking for a calm place to take a break in-between classes. Today, there were only few people around and Jared caught himself resenting their freedom and joy. Those negative thoughts made him feel ashamed of himself.</p><p>Sandy looked beautiful in her short denim skirt and blue top. She rushed up to him, a stunning smile on her face that could light up the world. Jared had thought many times that she might be the one. She stood by him when his parents had their accident almost a year ago. She offered advice and a shoulder to cry on, she helped him without expecting anything in return and he was so grateful for having her in his life, she was one of the reasons he was still standing today. And now he had to end it.</p><p>Jared took her hand and led her to the nearby bench. Sitting down, all he could think of was how much he wanted to kiss her. Passionately, furiously. To remember every detail, her scent and taste and how she moaned quietly when their kiss heated. All those days of pain and desperation that she melted away with her kind words and soft touches. She was the one to bring him back from the black hole that had consumed him after everything turned into chaos and it seemed there was no hope left. She was his beacon of light and he knew, starting tomorrow, he’d have to dive in blind.</p><p>Hesitantly, he looked her straight into her eyes.</p><p>“Sandy, I have to tell you something…”, Jared began.</p><p>“What, baby?”</p><p>“I’m moving away”. He saw the moment her smile vanished from her face.</p><p>“What?! What do you mean, you’re moving away? When?”, she asked, shocked at his words.</p><p>“I’m leaving tomorrow”.</p><p>“Y-You’re leaving tomorrow?? Where are you mov--”, Sandy started, but raising his hand, Jared interrupted her.</p><p>“I got a job outside town. I need to think about my family, the best way to help them. I-I need to leave tomorrow morning. I’m sorry, but I have to do this”.</p><p>Stunned, tears forming on her eyes, Sandy murmured, “I didn’t even know you were looking for another job”.</p><p>“I wasn’t, really. But James got me this gig, and it’s good money”, Jared said, taking a deep breath and bracing himself to deliver the blow. “That’s why we need to break up”.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Convincing Sandy they wouldn’t be able to maintain a long distance relationship and it was best if they just broke up, when this was the last thing he wanted to do, was hell, but he pulled it off. There was no last kiss nor promises to keep in touch, it was a clean break and she would never know how much it killed him to do it.</p><p>He chose to walk all the way to San Antonio State Hospital, using the time to center himself. It took him a little over two hours, but lost in thoughts, he only realized he’d arrived when he was standing in front of his parents’ door.</p><p>Upon entering their room, Jared immediately looked for the hidden camera. It didn’t take long and he found it over the television hanging on the wall. He disabled the camera, threw it on the floor and stepped on it with all his force, breaking it in pieces that were shattered around the room. He collected the pieces he saw and discarded them in the trash bin. He knew Jeffrey could send someone anytime to replace the camera, but he hoped Jeffrey wouldn’t feel like he needed to spy on his parents any longer, now that Jared would be working for him. Either way, the camera was gone now and Jared felt a little better knowing his parents weren’t being monitored anymore.</p><p>Standing between his parents’ beds, Jared thought of all the things he wanted to say to them. He wanted to beg them to <em>please, wake up</em>. He wanted to inform them he wouldn’t be coming over to visit for some time. He wanted to ask for forgiveness, for failing in keeping their family safe. He wanted to ask for help and advice. He wanted to tell them to keep fighting.</p><p>Looking at their serene semblance, the words failed him. He hugged and kissed both of them on the cheek and headed to the door. Upon opening it, he turned to look at them one last time.</p><p>“I love you”, Jared said. He closed the door and left.</p><p> </p><p>***</p><p>Jared looked outside the window, his plane was about to take off. He tried not to think so much about the tearful farewell he had with his sister nor about the fact that he just broke up with the woman, with whom he thought he’d spend the rest of his life.</p><p>Brokenhearted, he silently said goodbye to his hometown. This city that he loved, where he grew up and lived through the most amazing and most miserable experiences of his life.</p>
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